Reminiscing “Ole Man River”

By Dick Hinson

The local recent headline: "Chipola River Floods" made some Old-timers ask: "What flood?’’ Now, we all admit that any depth of floodwater is a major problem if it happens to be in your yard. However, it’s nowhere near as frequent nor as deep as Chipola flooding was in the past. Something has changed. What was it?

Look at a map: The river is formed by the Junction of Marshall and Cowarts Creek, not far south of SR # 2 and the Alabama state line. This area of the upper Chipola is in the middle of a vast acreage of fertile farmland, heavily cultivated since the era of the old plantations. For over a century, the native woodland has been cleared.

During those early years of cultivation in this area, with the passage of time, topsoil was lost to erosion. If terraces were ever considered, the idea was soon discarded. Motorized equipment had not been invented and land was cheap and plentiful. The owners simply cleared additional new ground for the plows.

Meanwhile, deep gullies soon formed on the slopes of the barren, abandoned fields. Heavy rainfalls were quickly funneled into the upper Chipola. The leading edge of this rapid accumulation of water formed a crest which was far higher than the levels we now occasionally see. That was the cause of the downstream high flood levels around the Chipola in that era. By the 1930’s, the loss of critical topsoil had gotten the attention of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Across the South, a program was put in place for terraces and heavy equipment rentals. However, these efforts were slowed by the depression years and sidelined during WWII. In the late 1940’s, after the end of the war, some terracing was being done.

Also at this time, a new cost-share program was begun for the planting of pine trees. Thousands of acres of worn-out farmland were converted to tree production. Within a few years, this new cover served to control rainstorm run-off. The downstream floods were less severe. While the pine planting wasn’t intended for flood control, it turned out to be a great side benefit which Marianna was glad to have!

Until recent times, our town didn’t have a river height gauge. The current device measures flood stage at "19 feet", which it reached a few days ago after a downpour exceeded six inches. However, U.S. 90 and major city streets remained open to traffic.

In the "old days", we considered a "flood" as a river height which placed U.S. 90 underwater from the Elks Lodge to the intersection of Noland and Lafayette Streets. To the north, the caverns highway was impassable from the Kelson Street intersection.

During these floods motorboats operated in the area now known as "Riverview Subdivision". Only the hill elevations remained dry. Fortunately, the water quickly receded after the crest passed through the area.

According to some pioneer citizens, the highest Chipola flood in memory occurred in 1929. An old man once showed a photograph which he had taken (from his boat) of the U.S. 90 bridge. The construction was similar to that of the abandoned Bellamy Bridge, with an elevated framework of iron girders. Only the top half of the iron beams remained above the water. The elderly eyewitnesses recalled that, to the west, the river extended to the lower elevations of the current Winn-Dixie parking lot.

It is obvious that our present flood gauge, like the bridge roadway, would have been somewhere about 8 feet under. As late as 1948, during flood periods, sections of major highways were closed. It was necessary to detour through south Alabama and Georgia to find an open road leading to central Florida. Additional rivers to the east were also involved in that particular problem.
Marianna, the only town on the river, has always been closely tied to the Chipola. The founders were not bashful in suggesting that the stream was "navigable" to the Apalachicola River, a valuable asset in the 1820’s. For heavy barges, this would have only been possible when the downstream shoals were covered in high water. However, during the period of the 1850’s, a significant number of barges loaded with cotton floated down the Chipola to the Apalachicola markets.

Meanwhile, if you live anywhere close to the river and your house stays dry: remember to thank the pine trees!